The adverse health risks associated with smoking cigarettes are well known. It is estimated that at least seventy percent (70%) of smokers today desire to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke, or to quit smoking altogether. Despite the known risks, only about six percent (6%) of smokers report that they were able to quit smoking entirely. The low rate of success is believed to be due to the highly addictive nature of the nicotine present in the tobacco of conventional cigarettes. Nicotine gum and nicotine patches are available for the delivery of nicotine without the harmful carcinogenic by-products of tobacco combustion. Nicotine gum and nicotine patches, however, have proven to be less successful as means for smoking cessation due to their failure to satisfy the hand-to-mouth and inhalation urges of a habitual smoker. In the past few years, nicotine delivery devices in the form of combustion-free electronic cigarettes, also referred to as “smokeless cigarettes,” “e-cigarettes.” and “digital vapor cigarettes,” as well as vape pens and vaporizers have been developed and introduced to the public. These devices operate on the “heat-not-burn” principle, and thus, are believed to eliminate the harmful carcinogenic by-products of tobacco combustion.
Popular brands of electronic cigarettes include BLU ECIGS® offered by Lorillard Technologies, Inc. of Greensboro, N.C., USA, VUSE® offered by Reynolds Innovations, Inc. of Winston-Salem, N.C., USA, MARK 1O™ offered by Phillip Morris, Inc. of Richmond, Va., USA, and NJOY® offered by NJOY, Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., USA. Popular brands of vape pens and vaporizers (collectively “vaporizers”) include FIREFLY® offered by Firefly Company of San Francisco, Calif., USA, Matrix offered by Mig Vapor of Pompano Beach, Fla., USA, PAX® offered by PAX Labs, Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., USA, V2Pro offered by VMR Products, LLC of Miami, Fla., USA, HAZE® V3 offered by Haze Industries, Inc. of Atlanta Ga., USA, Ploom™ and Ploom TECH™ offered by Japan Tobacco Inc. of Tokyo, Japan, and the Iolite® WISPR® offered by Ogelsby & Butler of Carlow, Ireland.
Each of the aforementioned commercially available electronic cigarettes and vaporizers replicates the hand-to-mouth and inhalation experiences of a traditional tobacco cigarette desired by smokers. Electronic cigarettes and vaporizers can also satisfy a smoker's craving for addictive nicotine without exposing the smoker to the carcinogenic by-products produced by the combustion of tobacco, and without exposing by-standers to harmful second-hand smoke. As a result, electronic cigarettes and vaporizers are credited with providing a healthier nicotine delivery option to smokers, as well as a healthy environment for by-standers, by at least significantly reducing, and potentially eliminating, the harmful effects of the carcinogens present in the tobacco smoke that would otherwise be produced and dispersed by the combustion of tobacco with a conventional tobacco cigarette.
Conventional tobacco cigarettes are made of a combustible material that is ignited with a flame to cause the tobacco to burn. Burning tobacco releases an aerosol tobacco smoke containing nicotine that is inhaled by the smoker to deliver the nicotine to the lungs. Electronic cigarettes, on the other hand, heat a liquid, commonly referred to as “e-liquid,” containing an aerosol former, such as glycerin, vegetable glycerin and/or propylene glycol, admixed with flavoring and/or nicotine. The heat causes the e-liquid to produce an aerosol, commonly referred to as a “vapor” or “vape,” that is inhaled by the smoker to deliver the flavoring and/or nicotine to the lungs. Most of the current electronic cigarettes include a battery energy source, an atomizer and a hollow, re-fillable or expendable cartridge that contains the e-liquid. Due to the frequency required to re-fill or replace the cartridge, an advanced type of electronic cigarette has been developed that combines the atomizer and the e-liquid cartridge into a single “cartomizer” electrically connected to the battery that allows for a greater period of time between re-fill or replacement.
The vaporization process is initiated by the smoker inhaling on a mouthpiece, or alternatively, by the smoker depressing a manual switch that activates the atomizer or cartomizer. The atomizer heats the e-liquid to cause the aerosol former to produce an inhalable aerosol containing the flavoring and/or nicotine. The aerosol is inhaled through the mouthpiece of the device to deliver the flavoring and/or nicotine to the lungs of the smoker. The smoker then exhales the residual aerosol vapor absent the harmful carcinogenic by-products of tobacco combustion. Vaporizers operate similarly to electronic cigarettes with the exception that most vaporizers utilize dry tobacco material as the substrate to be heated to release the aerosol containing nicotine that is vaporized and delivered to the smoker. Vaporizers are also commonly used with other dry plant (e.g., herb) material as the substrate, for example coffee, tea and marijuana.
Despite the reduced health risks, there remain certain disadvantages with the electronic cigarette devices that are currently available. For example, the e-liquid typically contains a volatile solution of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin (VG), glycerin and/or polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400) admixed with concentrated flavoring and/or a highly variable concentration of nicotine. Certain e-liquid solutions have been found to still contain known cancer-causing agents, referred to as tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), as well as tobacco-specific impurities, such as anabasine, myosmine, and β-nicotine. In fact, a recent study by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detected diethylene glycol, a poisonous and hygroscopic liquid commonly used in anti-freeze solutions, in a commercial e-liquid and measurable levels of nicotine in another commercial e-liquid that claimed to be nicotine-free.
These findings are particularly disturbing since the cartridges and cartomizers of electronic cigarettes that contain the e-liquid are inherently susceptible to leakage and/or breakage as a result of their small size and relative fragility. As a result, there exists a danger that a cartridge or cartomizer could leak or break, and thereby cause a user to directly inhale a harmful dosage of the e-liquid solution prior to vaporization. It is also possible for the e-liquid solution leaking from the cartridge or cartomizer to damage the electronics and/or corrode the battery of the vaporizer. Furthermore, the glycerin and/or propylene glycol aerosol former in the e-liquid is combustible, and thus, could ignite and cause a fire if the e-liquid solution comes into contact with an ignition source.
Certain disadvantages likewise exist with the vaporizers that are currently available. As previously mentioned, vaporizers typically utilize a dry plant material as the substrate that is heated to form the vapor to be delivered to the user in the form of an aerosol. The dry plant material is placed into a combination heating and aerosolizing (vaporizing) chamber, commonly referred to as the “oven.” For the best results, it is essential that the dry plant material is finely ground and contains very little moisture, preferably less than about fifteen percent (15%). Accordingly, additional equipment, namely a fine particle grinder and a dryer are needed for optimal vaping. Furthermore, vaporizers that operate on the principle of conduction heating produce better vapor when a finely ground dry plant material is more tightly packed into the oven. Conversely, vaporizers that operate on the principle of convection heating produce better vapor when the unground dry plant material is more loosely packed into the oven. Regardless, the processes of grinding, drying and/or packing the dry plant material into the oven of the vaporizer, as well as subsequently removing the dry plant material residue and cleaning the oven, can be difficult, time consuming and variable, thereby making a consistently enjoyable vaping experience less likely.
Accordingly, an improved substrate for use with a vapor delivery device configured for vaporizing and delivering an aerosol to a patient or a smoker is needed. Furthermore, a substrate for vaporizing and delivering an aerosol is needed that is safe, relatively easy and convenient to use. In particular, a substrate for vaporizing and delivering an aerosol containing aerosol former and flavoring and/or nicotine, finely-ground tobacco powder, or tobacco extract is desired that overcomes the problems, deficiencies and disadvantages of the electronic cigarettes and vaporizers that are currently available. Specifically, a porous, inert substrate for vaporizing and delivering an aerosol to a smoker is needed that eliminates the known risks of producing harmful carcinogenic by-products, inhaling an e-liquid solution, and damaging the battery or electronics of the vapor delivery device or potentially causing a fire in the event of an e-liquid leak. Such a substrate should also not require the use of additional equipment or excessive time to prepare the substrate in the vapor delivery device or to subsequently clean the vapor delivery device so as to create a consistently enjoyable vaping experience.
As used herein, the term “aerosol” means a colloidal system of solid and/or liquid particles dispersed and suspended in a gas, such as smoke or fog. The term “aerosol” is intended to include vapors, gases, fine particle suspensions, and the like, both visible and invisible. As so defined, the term “aerosol” specifically includes any pharmacologically or physiologically active agents and any desired additive, such as an aerosol former, flavoring, nicotine and/or an extract, irrespective of whether the mixture produces a visible aerosol. In exemplary embodiments of the invention shown and described herein, the aerosol is generated by a heat source acting upon a substrate adsorbed with an aerosol former. In specific exemplary embodiments, the aerosol former is admixed with flavoring and/or nicotine, finely-ground tobacco powder, or tobacco extract in a manner consistent with the invention. As used herein, the term “in heat-conducting relation” is intended to mean an arrangement whereby heat is transferred by conduction or convection to a thermally conductive component, such as a heat conductor or a substrate, from a heat generating source, such as a heating element. A heat-conducting relation can be achieved by locating the thermally conductive component in direct physical contact or in close proximity to the heat generating source, or alternatively, merely in fluid (e.g., air) communication with the heat generating source.